Psalm 32 -- The Blessing of Confession

What an awesome psalm!  We all dread having to confess to God what we’ve done – David waited almost a year to do so – and here he tells us of “the freedom of forgiveness” he experienced.

My commentary called verses 1-2 “The Blessing of Acceptance”.  God blesses the disobedient who have been forgiven, my commentary said.  “When we confess our sins, God cancels the debt and it’s no longer on the books … Jesus paid the debt on the cross, and His blood cleanses the record AND the heart of the offender.”

It calls verse 3-4 “The Folly of Impenitence”.  “David honestly admits what a fool he had been to hide his sins for almost a year … God does not permit His children to sin successfully… Sin is a serpent, and he that covers sin does but keep it warm, that it may sting the more fiercely, and disperse the venom and malignity thereof the more effectually.  The Lord chastened David … and made him miserable until he stopped lying, humbled himself before God, and confessed his sins … God’s chastening is proof that He loves us and that we are genuinely His children.”

Verses 6-7 are called “The Way of Deliverance”.  I read, “David’s confession ‘I have sinned against the Lord’ was answered with, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin.’ … all he had to do was sincerely confess his sins, and the Lord forgave him … Guilt is to the conscience what pain is to the body:  it tells us something is wrong and must be made right, or things will get worse … we must confess our sins immediately, when we find them out and while God may be found.”

Finally, verses 8-11 are called “The Joy of Obedience”.  One sentence said it all – “God doesn’t forgive us so that we can go back and sin.”

Father, I know what it’s like to labor under the weight of unconfessed sin.  I thank You for making me uncomfortable until I do confess it to You.  Thank You for not allowing me to sin successfully and for reminding me that You don’t forgive me so that I can go back and sin.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford